[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 37 (Friday, February 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11794-11796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03943]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2007-0041]


FM Approvals LLC: Application for Expansion of Recognition and 
Proposed Modification to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test 
Standards

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, OSHA announces the application of FM Approvals 
LLC for expansion of recognition as a Nationally Recognized

[[Page 11795]]

Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the agency's preliminary finding 
to grant the application. Additionally, OSHA proposes to add one test 
standard to the NRTL Program's list of appropriate test standards.

DATES: Submit comments, information, and documents in response to this 
notice, or requests for an extension of time to make a submission, on 
or before March 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted as follows:
    Electronically: You may submit comments, including attachments, 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    OSHA will place comments and requests for a hearing, including 
personal information, in the public docket, which will be available 
online. Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting 
personal information such as Social Security numbers and birthdates.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are 
listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through this website. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in 
locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2007-0041). OSHA places comments and other 
materials, including any personal information, in the public docket 
without revision, and these materials will be available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, the agency cautions commenters 
about submitting statements they do not want made available to the 
public, or submitting comments that contain personal information 
(either about themselves or others) such as Social Security numbers, 
birth dates, and medical data.
    Extension of comment period: Submit requests for an extension of 
the comment period on or before March 15, 2021 to the Office of 
Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, Directorate of 
Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Room N-3653, Washington, DC 20210, or by fax to (202) 693-
1644.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is 
available from the following sources:
    Press inquiries: Contact Mr. Frank Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office 
of Communications, U.S. Department of Labor, telephone: (202) 693-1999; 
email: [email protected].
    General and technical information: Contact Mr. Kevin Robinson, 
Director, Office of Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, 
Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, phone: 
(202) 693-2110 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of the Application for Expansion

    OSHA is providing notice that FM Approvals LLC (FM) is applying for 
an expansion of current recognition as a NRTL. FM requests the addition 
of five test standards to the NRTL scope of recognition.
    OSHA recognition of a NRTL signifies that the organization meets 
the requirements specified in 29 CFR 1910.7. Recognition is an 
acknowledgment that the organization can perform independent safety 
testing and certification of the specific products covered within the 
scope of recognition. Each NRTL's scope of recognition includes (1) the 
type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by the 
applicable test standard; and (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have 
the technical capability to perform the product-testing and product-
certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope. 
Recognition is not a delegation or grant of government authority; 
however, recognition enables employers to use products approved by the 
NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product testing and 
certification.
    The agency processes applications by a NRTL for initial recognition 
and for an expansion or renewal of this recognition, following 
requirements in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. This appendix requires 
that the agency publish two notices in the Federal Register in 
processing an application. In the first notice, OSHA announces the 
application and provides a preliminary finding. In the second notice, 
the agency provides the final decision on the application. These 
notices set forth the NRTL's scope of recognition or modifications of 
that scope. OSHA maintains an informational web page for each NRTL, 
including FM, which details the NRTL's scope of recognition. These 
pages are available from the OSHA website at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
    FM currently has two facilities (sites) recognized by OSHA for 
product testing and certification, with the headquarters located at: FM 
Approvals LLC, 1151 Boston-Providence Turnpike, Norwood, Massachusetts 
02062. A complete list of FM's scope of recognition is available at 
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/fm.html.

II. General Background on the Application

    FM submitted an application to OSHA to expand recognition as a NRTL 
to include five additional test standards on May 16, 2019 (OSHA-2007-
0041-0014). OSHA staff performed a detailed analysis of the application 
packets and reviewed other pertinent information. OSHA did not perform 
any on-site reviews in relation to these applications.
    Table 1 lists the appropriate test standards found in FM's 
application for expansion for testing and certification of products 
under the NRTL Program.

  Table 1--Proposed List of Appropriate Test Standards for Inclusion in
                     FM's NRTL Scope of Recognition
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            Test standard                     Test standard title
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* ANSI FM 3265......................  Spark Detection and Extinguishing
                                       Systems.
UL 268..............................  Smoke Detectors for Fire Alarm
                                       Systems.
UL 1971.............................  Signaling Devices for the Hearing
                                       Impaired.
UL 2127.............................  Inert Gas Clean Agent
                                       Extinguishing System Units.
UL 2166.............................  Halocarbon Clean Agent
                                       Extinguishing System Units.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Represents the standard that OSHA proposes to add to the NRTL
  Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards.

III. Proposal To Add New Test Standard to the NRTL Program's List of 
Appropriate Test Standards

    Periodically, OSHA will propose to add new test standards to the 
NRTL list of appropriate test standards following an evaluation of the 
test standard document. To qualify as an appropriate test standard, the 
agency evaluates the document to (1) verify it represents a product 
category for which OSHA requires certification by a NRTL, (2) verify 
the document represents a product and not a component, and (3) verify 
the document defines safety test specifications (not installation or 
operational performance specifications). OSHA becomes aware of new test 
standards through various avenues. For

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example, OSHA may become aware of new test standards by: (1) Monitoring 
notifications issued by certain Standards Development Organizations; 
(2) reviewing applications by NRTLs or applicants seeking recognition 
to include new test standard in their scopes of recognition; and (3) 
obtaining notification from manufacturers, manufacturing organizations, 
government agencies, or other parties. OSHA may determine to include a 
new test standard in the list, for example, if the test standard is for 
a particular type of product that another test standard also covers or 
it covers a type of product that no standard previously covered.
    In this notice, OSHA proposes to add one new test standard to the 
NRTL Program's list of appropriate test standards. Table 2, below, 
lists the test standard that is new to the NRTL Program. OSHA 
preliminarily determined that this test standard is appropriate and 
proposes to include it in the NRTL Program's list of appropriate test 
standards. OSHA seeks public comment on this preliminary determination.

Table 2--Standard OSHA Is Proposing To Add to the NRTL Program's List of
                       Appropriate Test Standards
------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Test standard                     Test standard title
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSI FM 3265........................  Spark Detection and Extinguishing
                                       Systems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Preliminary Findings on the Application

    FM submitted an acceptable application for expansion of the scope 
of recognition. OSHA's review of the application files, and pertinent 
documentation, indicate that FM can meet the requirements prescribed by 
29 CFR 1910.7 for expanding the recognition to include the addition of 
these five test standards for NRTL testing and certification listed 
above. This preliminary finding does not constitute an interim or 
temporary approval of FM's application.
    OSHA welcomes public comment as to whether FM meets the 
requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of the recognition as a 
NRTL. OSHA additionally welcomes comments on the proposal to add five 
additional test standards to the NRTL Program's list of appropriate 
test standards. Comments should consist of pertinent written documents 
and exhibits. Commenters needing more time to comment must submit a 
request in writing, stating the reasons for the request. Commenters 
must submit the written request for an extension by the due date for 
comments. OSHA will limit any extension to 10 days unless the requester 
justifies a longer period. OSHA may deny a request for an extension if 
the request is not adequately justified. To obtain or review copies of 
the exhibits identified in this notice, as well as comments submitted 
to the docket, contact the Docket Office, Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. These materials also 
are available online at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. 
OSHA-2007-0041.
    OSHA staff will review all comments to the docket submitted in a 
timely manner and, after addressing the issues raised by these 
comments, will make a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for 
Occupational Safety and Health whether to grant FM's application for 
expansion of the scope of recognition. The Assistant Secretary will 
make the final decision on granting the application. In making this 
decision, the Assistant Secretary may undertake other proceedings 
prescribed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7.
    OSHA will publish a public notice of the final decision in the 
Federal Register.

V. Authority and Signature

    Amanda L. Edens, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 
DC 20210, authorized the preparation of this notice. Accordingly, the 
agency is issuing this notice pursuant to Section 29 U.S.C. 655(6)(d), 
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 (85 FR 58393; Sept. 18, 2020), 
and 29 CFR 1905.11.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on February 17, 2021.
Amanda L. Edens,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-03943 Filed 2-25-21; 8:45 am]
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